>> and from all of us here, thanks for watching. we appreciate your time. see you again at 6:00. tonight on "world news," dirty shame. debt collectors harass customers at one of america's biggest banks using obscene threats, racist taunts. brian ross confronts the bank's chairman with the tapes. political theater. stephen colbert on capitol hill to highlight a serious issue. but did it serve his cause? or just show contempt for congress? hostage drama. robbers kidnap a florida bank teller, strap a bomb to his chest, then use him as a weapon to get the money. vintage baseball. the only video of what may be the greatest game ever played, socked away for 50 years in bing crosby's wine cellar. and children's crusader. our troubled schools need a super hero, and we found one. he's our "person of the week."

good evening. the phone calls were ugly and harrowing. they came early in the morning, late at night, over and over again. in these tough times, it may be no surprise that debt collectors calls are the country's top consumer complaint, but these ones crossed all boundaries of decency. racist, pornographic, even targeting someone who owed nothing. tonight, our investigation has found the callers behind these vile shakedowns were hired by a company working for one of america's banking giants. chief investigative correspondent ryan brosz brian e this evidence is stunning. >> reporter: it really is, george. the tactics have reached an all-time low, including the racist, obscene phone calls used in some cases on behalf of major

>> received august 7th at 8:10 p.m. >> reporter: an overdue payment of $81 on a bank of america credit card led to the following message from a debt collector. >> what's up you [ bleep ] africa. >> reporter: the recipient, allen jones of dallas, texas, says the calls came even after he told them his bank of america account had been paid. >> the representative acted like, oh, we can call you as >> reporter: and the racist, obscene calls continued, late at night and early in the morning. >> this is your [ bleep ] wake up call, man. >> reporter: in lynchburg, identity, another bank of america customer, geoff burke, was hounded with similar rough >> i have you scared to pick up the phone now? huh? it is because you're in bed with your sister? or with your mom, your cousin? huh? or what? little punk. received calls like that for months until they finally realized they had the wrong bank of america customer. >> i had no way to put an end to the phone calls. >> reporter: the calls to the come from a debt collection

agency, a.c.t., in harlingen, texas. >> that sounds like me a whole lot. >> reporter: one of the debt collectors who made the offensive calls, carlos oliva, a company supervisor, testified in a lawsuit that he was hired there just seven months after leaving prison. >> they have a prison mentality. these are the people a.c.t. for bank of america. >> reporter: the company says the callers were rogue operators, and that it has since improved oversight. >> what happened did not represent the policies and the, you know, the work that our employees do. >> reporter: but a jury held both the callers and a.c.t. responsible in a verdict of more than $1.5 million. yet, bank of america continues to use the same debt collection up and go pick some [ bleep ] cotton field. provide anyone to talk to us on camera, so we went looking for

him why his bank still used the agency and to give him a copy of the phone calls. is that acceptable to you? the f-word? >> that would not be acceptable. i'll find out. thank you. >> reporter: let me know. >> yep. >> reporter: thank you very much. two days later, bank of america essentially fired that collection agency, as a result of what we raised in our investigation, according to debt collection agency chairman. bank of america says the decision had nothing to do with our story. >> they say that, but that is one action. i got to believe regulators are going to take a look at this. >> reporter: absolutely. the federal trade commission is preparing a major crackdown and one official said the problem is, abusive phone calls work and the bottom line has too often trumped common decency and the law. >> may be common. okay. more of your report on "nightline" tonight. thanks very much. on capitol hill today, the line between politics and entertainment was completely wiped away after blurring for years. stephen colbert, or more specifically, the conservative blow hard he plays on comedy central, testified before the house judiciary committee. jonathan karl was there.

>> reporter: this is what it looks like when stephen colbert comes to congress. democrats invited the comedy central funnyman to testify before the house subcommittee on immigration because of this -- >> it was time to get my farm on and i was ready. >> reporter: for his comedy show, colbert worked for a day as a farm worker, doing a job usually done by illegal immigrants, or, kind of doing it. >> sam, do i get paid by the bean or by the hour? >> by the hour. >> and how many hours have i been working? >> about 12 minutes. >> reporter: the show was funny, but for this crowd, much of colbert's testimony fell flat. >> congresswoman lofgren asked me to share my vast experience spending one day as a migrant farm worker. >> reporter: serious subject. witness, not so much. >> maybe the easier answer is just to have scientists develop vegetables that pick themselves. >> reporter: the hearing was on the use of illegal farm workers to do work most americans won't do.

he chided congress for not dealing with the issue. >> now i'm not a fan of the government doing anything but i've got to ask, why isn't the government doing anything? maybe this jobs bill would help. i don't know. like most members of congress, i haven't read it. >> reporter: at least one republican on the committee took offense. >> i think that he mocked the hearing process. i think it was his intent to do that. >> reporter: this is not the typical crowd at a congressional hearing on a friday on any subject. toward the end of the hearing, for a moment, colbert got serious. >> i like talking about people who don't have any power. and it seems like one of the least powerful people in the united states are migrant workers who come and do our work, but don't have any rights as a result. >> reporter: so was it worth it? are you glad you came? >> ton of fun. >> reporter: ton of fun? >> yeah, i learned a lot. >> reporter: worried about trivializing such a serious issue? maybe not. but he probably won't be invited back any time soon.

jonathan karl, abc news, capitol hill. there is trouble across much of the upper midwest tonight, and states of emergency in parts of minnesota and wisconsin, where severe flooding has forced hundreds from their homes. since yesterday, a powerful storm has dumped more than ten inches of rain on some towns. rivers and streams are still rising, and more rain is on the way. linsey davis reports from arcadia, wisconsin. >> reporter: longtime residents of spring street in arcadia, wisconsin, say they've never seen it this bad. >> i'm scared to death. >> reporter: and this kind of visit from the sheriff's department was also a first. >> if you like to stay, you're on your own. >> no, you guys told me to go -- i'm going. >> reporter: several rivers are still rising. the sight of growing floodwaters >> don't know if when we come back everything will be still here. just moved here five months ago. >> reporter: yesterday, in several parts of wisconsin and minnesota, more than a month's

worth of rain fell in less than 24 hours, up to ten inches of rain in some areas. pipestone, minnesota, residents relied on the best front line of the water was so strong, it managed to wash away part of this bridge. the worst of the flooding spanned three states, minnesota, wisconsin and south dakota. >> we were told to leave last night and we came back today and i said, well, i want to get back and if nothing else, get my tools out. >> reporter: and you come back and you see all this? >> yes. >> reporter: i want to show you what several homeowners are dealing with tonight. it's beyond just their yards being flooded. in some cases here, they're surrounded by water. take a look at this house, for instance. the water actually started climbing up the front steps. but it's not just a problem here. we're actually talking about seven states in the midwest currently under flood warning tonight. george? >> seven states. okay, linsey davis, thanks very much. in florida today, a chilling and curious hostage drama is

playing out. the target, a bank just outside miami. and how the robbers pulled off the heist seemed especially cruel. matt gutman has the story. >> reporter: police say this man a 25-year-old bank teller, was turned into a human bomb to pull off a daring bank heist. it began as a home invasion overnight. three assailants burst into diego uscamayta's home. holding him and his father at gun point. then at about 8:00 a.m., two of the men forced the bank teller into his car and ordered him to drive to his bank. but before sending him in, the robbers strapped what they said was a bomb to his chest. >> the men said, we have a remote, you know, triggering device, we want you to get as much money that you possibly can and bring it out to us. >> reporter: the only other person in the bank at the time was the branch manager, who, terrified, helped the man into the vault. having gathered the money, the teller came out into this parking lot, the bomb still strapped to his body. he handed the money over to the

robbers, they drove off, having never stepped foot inside this bank. by this time, the bank manager had alerted the police, and s.w.a.t. teams, the bomb squad and the fbi swarmed, snarling traffic on u.s.-1. >> it is an unusual event to have explosives strapped to a victim and sent in. >> reporter: for three hours, uscamayta remained in the bank, until the bomb squad helped him cut the bomb off his body. uscamayta is still being questioned by police. and george, the fbi is still working to determine whether or not that device could have been a viable bomb. as for those three assailants, they seem to have disappeared. and while i asked investigators how much money those assailants stole, they said they couldn't tell me exactly, but it was a sum that was unusually large for a bank heist. george? >> okay, matt, thank you. president obama is heading back to washington tonight after two days packed with diplomacy here in new york for the u.n. general assembly. so, let's bring in jake tapper to wrap it up. and jake, it's become a custom. president mahmoud ahmadinejad

of iran also uses this forum to give incendiary speeches. yesterday, linking, saying 9/11 might have been an inside job by the u.s. today, president obama lashed back. >> reporter: that's right. he chose the opportunity of an interview with bbc persia, which airs in iran, to respond to the comments from ahmadinejad. >> it was offensive. it was hateful. and particularly for him to make the statement here, in manhattan, just a little north of ground zero, for him to make a statement like that was inexcusable. >> reporter: and george, throughout that interview, the president tried to exploit domestic political tensions and divisions within iran, talking to the iranian people about how ahmadinejad is bad for the country, bad for them, bad for their company. >> put more pressure on the president. yet, behind the scenes this week, some rumbling of possible talks getting started again? >> reporter: that's right, and in fact ahmadinejad today said he was willing to come back to the table with international negotiators to talk about ending

the nuclear weapons program, as an exploratory measure, and iranian negotiators have been meeting with the british and chinese about doing that. >> the president is making a big push for peace between the palestinians and israelis. the talks have started again. yet, they're coming up against a deadline this sunday, the end of the settlement freeze, and yesterday, jordan's king abdullah warned that these talks could break down and it could be very serious. >> if we fail on the 30th, expect another war by the end of the year. >> expect another -- >> war by the end of the year. and more wars that i foresee in the region over the coming years. >> very strong warning from the king. and that is why the president is putting on a full court press this week. >> reporter: that's absolutely right. and in fact, this evening, secretary of state hillary clinton is meeting with the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas, to talk about how to get past this issue, if the israelis do end the settlement freeze. >> and a real fear if they end it, violence could break out. >> reporter: not just violence, a war. >> jake tapper, thank you. the only film from one of the

most famous baseball games ever played. it's now been found. it was saved by bing crosby. the death of eddie fisher. looking back at the hits, the famous marriages and his fall from grace. and our "person of the week." how one man's quest to change how children learn may change education in america. we speak value. and people like what we're saying. about how fusion is projected to hold its resale value better than camry. and has better quality than accord. as a matter of fact, people like what we're saying so much, ford fusion is now the 2010 motor trend car of the year. the fusion, from ford. get in . . . and drive one.

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>> reporter: final game of the 1960 world series. the only time in world series history a home run in the seventh game has clinched the championship. >> it's a home run for mazeroski. and the pirates win. >> reporter: news reel footage survives on youtube of pittsburgh's bill mazeroski and his famous ninth inning hit. but no one thought to save a recording of the full game, except, of all people, bing crosby, part owner of the pirates. crosby archivist robert bader discovered the dusty reels last summer in bing's basement. >> i contacted major league baseball when i realized what i had. of course, their first reaction was, "you must be mistaken. that can't possibly exist." >> reporter: and here he is right now. today, kathryn crosby, bing's widow, welcomed us in their home. the basement, unfortunately, was off-limits. but she told us the story. >> he felt that he jinxed them. >> reporter: bing crosby couldn't even stand to stay in the country. so he asked someone to film it

off the tv while he took the family to paris. they listened over the radio. >> bing had been opening up a bottle of scotch, on the mantle, because it wouldn't open. and he was just tapping it. and when the ball was struck, he hit it and broke the bottle and it dropped into the fireplace. >> 1960 world series. >> reporter: the major league baseball network plans to show the game in its entirety this coming december and release a dvd. >> from the perspective of a baseball fan, the value of this footage is priceless. >> reporter: for kathryn crosby, it's just one of thousands of treasures of her late husband, and his love of the game. david wright, abc news, hillsborough, california. >> great reporting from david wright. and coming up, hollywood loses one of its own. the hits, the misses and the wives of eddie fisher.

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may be best known for his failed marriages to some famous women. ♪ in his 20s, he was at the top of his game, selling millions of records, starring in movies. headlining variety shows like "coke time with eddie fisher." ♪ today i sing to you >> please, daddy, one more song! >> reporter: for the pre-elvis generation, he was the ultimate heart throb. ♪ i know i'll never be free >> reporter: heartbreaker, too. he married hollywood darling debbie reynolds in 1955. they became known as america's sweethearts. appearing together on "what's my life." >> could it possibly be debbie and eddie? >> yes. >> reporter: the couple had two children, including actress carrie fisher. but then, in 1958, a tabloid scandal that was the beginning of the end of fisher's career. he left the very popular reynolds for elizabeth taylor. four years later, taylor left him. ♪ i've been down hearted

>> reporter: he went on to marry three more times. his career crippled by addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling. eddie fisher was 82. and fisher was remembered by his four children today, including carrie fisher, writing on twitter that her dad was, quote, an extraordinary talent. still ahead, this man is starring in a feature film about schools. his strategy is spreading across the country. and he's our "person of the week." ♪ [ male announcer ] giving up cigarettes can take more than willpower alone. but today's a new day. for many, smoking is a treatable medical condition. so talk to your doctor about prescription treatment options and support. and this time, make it your time. but my doctor told me that most calcium supplements...

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there's a movie coming out tonight that i hope you'll see. it's about a real crisis in our public schools. it's called "waiting for superman" and it features the man we choose tonight as our "person of the week." geoffrey canada has created a

bold experiment. >> there are solutions. this is not one of those issues that you have a crisis and you say, there's nothing you can do. >> reporter: his solution, the harlem children's zone in manhattan's historic and troubled neighborhood. >> what we wanted to see in harlem was our community looked like middle class communities, where kids had health care and they were eating nutritious meals. where young people didn't have to worry about gangs, and being shot and being killed. >> reporter: the luckiest attend the charter school in the heart of the zone, promises academy. what happens here is being called a miracle. canada's poor minority students are doing as well as their more privileged peers across the country. 650 promises academy graduates are now in college. here's the rub. the only way to get in today is through a heartbreaking lottery. >> and the last number -- >> reporter: but more money is pouring in. the children's zone just received a $20 million gift from goldman sachs, and this week the

white house awarded grants to 20 communities so the zone's impact will be felt by more than just the lucky few. and what a week it's been for canada. not only is he one of the stars of the new documentary, "waiting for superman," he inspired the title. >> one of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me, "superman did not exist." because even in the depths of the ghetto, you just thought he was coming, i just don't know when because he always shows up and he saves up all the good people. she thought i was crying because it's like santa claus is not real. i was crying because no one was coming with enough power to save us. >> reporter: canada grew up in the south bronx, raised by a single mother who struggled. >> it was one of the toughest places to grow up in america. most of my friends never made it out of the south bronx as healthy and productive citizens. >> reporter: he's still haunted by their memory. >> one of the things that really disturbed me growing up is i felt that the adults around us just let kids perish, they

didn't do anything to step in. >> reporter: but he steps in every day, proving that the system can be fixed. if you just push a little harder and dream a lot bigger. >> it's one of the great joys of my life, that when i look at my young people, i realize there's a bunch of us adults standing with these kids, saying, you know, we're going to guarantee you make it. >> reporter: and there will be more. and so we choose geoffrey canada, who believes what he's doing in harlem is just the beginning of a dream for the entire country. that's it for us tonight. diane sawyer will be back monday. i'll see you that morning on "gma." for all of us at abc news, have a good night and a great weekend. the fix is in in a court house in fremont. arrest of two traffic clerks for taking bribes and fixing tickets. a judge clears the way for executions to resume in california. tonight a death penalty decision with strings attach

ootd kidnapping case against phillip garrido comes to a stop y he may never stand trial for the abduction of jaycee dugard. >> police say never hang on to your hold medicines. and how to get rid of them safely. >> and we begin in fremont tonight with an abc 7 news exclusive. some employees are accused of taking bribe autos two people are under arrest accuse of fixing tickets in exchange for cash. >> abc 7 dug up the story and joins us now from freem yonlt. vick? >> both of those arrested worked in the traffic department of this court house. the alameda county superior court in freem yonlt. and investigators want to know if they work add lone or if this is the tip of the iceberg. juan hernandez arrested in late august after deputies say he got caught in a sting set